12 hour shifts

[ClintTorres]

For those of you who work 12 hour shifts, and especially those who have switched midstream from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts, what is your opinion of them?

[fritz71]

I prefer 12 hour shifts. A lot more spare time.

[redbird07]

Use to work 12 hour shifts, now work the 4 10's and have 3 days off. I prefer this.

[PhilipCal]

For those of you who work 12 hour shifts, and especially those who have switched midstream from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts, what is your opinion of them?

Little rough, but tolerable, if the off time at the end is worth it.

[kannahspapa]

We changed to 12's about 5 years ago. Having a 3 day weekend every other weekend is great. Can't see ever going back to 8's. It'll take awhile to get used to the change but the extra spare time is great.

[eman2k5]

I like my 12's....Like others have said the extra spare time is nice.

[inspectorsmiley]

I like the 12s on night shift but days are a little rough. When I had to work 6a-6p I would get off work, eat, and go to bed by 8 or 9. Seemed like the whole day was shot. But working the night rotation there is a bit more time during the day to get things done.

[SOI]

If you can avoid it, do. If you have the option of working 10 hour shifts, do that. Some departments around here work 10 hour shifts and rotate from working weekends to having weekends off every month. And they have at least a 1 hour overlap for every shift. I'd love to do that.

After years of working 12s, I absolutely hate them. I have less time to myself and my family than people who work 8s or 10s. As much as I don't like having 5 8-hour days in a row, I liked them better than 12s because I could have 6+ hours of free time every day. At least with 8s you can do something before and after work. And even if you have to stay late a couple of hours you're only working 10 hours.

Around here the agencies don't have any shift overlap so when you're working 12s you are responsible for every call right up until the next shift checks on at 6. Get a call for a burglary at 5:30? Too bad. Won't be able to get there, clear the scene, write your report, log evidence and check off duty before 9, and then you have to wake up at 4 to come back to work? Sucks to be you. You didn't actually need any sleep or time with your family anyways.

I can't remember the last actual 12 hour shift I worked. They are all at least 13, if not 14 or 15 hours. I usually get home just in time to get undressed and fall asleep in hope that I can get some rest, just so I could wake up just in time to go to work and do it all over again. The days that I work are completely spent with absolutely no free time.

Our 3 days weekends are hellish. 3 13-15 hour shifts in a row will make you beg for your 8s back.

And after being run ragged a few days in a row you end up sleeping your first day off. So even on our 3 day weekends off we only get 2 actual usable days.

I'd rather work 10 hour shifts with some overlap so you can get off the street and finish your paperwork when your relief checks on.

If you work in a real slow department where you're sitting around waiting for your relief to check on so you can go home then it wouldn't be bad. If you actually work your entire shift then you won't like it.

[JSD73]

I'll have to second SOI's comments, even though I never thought of it like that, but it's the truth!

While I love the every other weekend off, while you're working, you come home, go to bed, get up, go to work. There is no me time, unless you shortchange yourself on sleep every day and I only average between 5 and 6 hours. I'm exhausted on my first off day, I'll sleep for the regular, go get my daughter, and probably be asleep again within a matter of 2 hours. Im lucky if I can stay awake past 8. I try to go to a 'normal' life with my family on my days off, but I work nights and it plays havoc with me.

At least if you work nights on an 8, you can come home at 6 or so, stay up until ten, sleep for 6 to 8, get up and STILL have time for yourself and family.

Tens rock though, especially if you have enough seniority for weekends, but when I worked them, my comment was always, three days off is three days off.

[Sackett]

Twelve hour shifts are for young guys. If you are not 21 anymore and you work the road, it is rough. If you work 12 hours on morning watch it is even worse.

[MCOP207]

we work 12 hours shifts and it works for us. were on 4days and then 4 days off. its like having a vacation every week. I dont think it would be good for officers who work in an area where they are busy but where i work we only get 3 to 10 calls a day so its not bad.

[Tacitus]

SOI--thank you...very informative as there's been talk about 12's at my dept.

[PD2005]

4, 10 hour days with three days off works best for me. Each shift has an overlap. 1st shift 0700-1700, 2nd shift 1600-0200, and 3rd shift 2200-0800. That way you don't get stuck with to many late calls.

[CUFFS137]

Any steady shift is better that the rotating ten hr BS I work. I worked steady 12's and LOVED it.

[Rev1]

I talked to some of the lads working London Metro and they loved the 12's.

Here we work 8 hour shifts, with FREQUENT overtime. (We can work a max. of 12 and are not permitted to work 16 unless it's an emergency which is fine by me.)

My schedule goes like this....

I work an eight day stretch (from 1500-2300) followed by two days off, then a seven day stretch followed by two days off and finish up with a five day stretch and a four day long weekend.

Cycle is repeated until you die.

Anyway, the other officers all work basically the same thing except their long weekends may follow their eight or seven day stretch.

My contention is that I have worked five twelves in a row so why the heck wouldn't I work four 12's with three off and three with four off?

I also have looked at the four tens and that seems ok.

You don't even want to know what we worked when I first started. I think it's the same work schedule the Nazis used in Sobibor and Dachau.

Our "A" shift was midnight shift (2300-0700) and we worked six of those ideally followed by a four day long weekend. (New guys didn't get many long weekends so they usually worked during that time filling in on another shift.

Our "B" shift was 0700-1500 and we worked five of those followed by two days off. (Oh yeah. Our scheduling officer would always split the new guy's days off so that you would be off, work one or two (Sometimes on another shift.) and then get your second day off.

Our "C" shift was 1500-2300 and we worked six or seven of those depending on where you were on the schedule. This was followed by two days off and then you were back on midnights. (Again, you were likely to have those days off split up because you were the new guy.)

Sound horrible?

It was SO bad! And we had older guys that threw a fit when a bunch of us younger guys got together and pushed for a fixed schedule! (They had learned how to manipulate the schedule and of course had the vacation and comp. time built up to fudge their schedules so they had lots of time off.

The new guys paid the price.

Rev